Despite having a lot of positions that need to be addressed during the offseason on defense, the Chicago Bears' edge rusher position catches everyone's attention.
The Bears are coming off a season where they only had 35 sacks as a team, with Montez Sweat contributing 10 of those sacks, so there is a need to add another great edge rusher to help Sweat out, since they could not land a top one in free agency or trade. USA Today's Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz released his latest mock draft with a perfect solution to the Bears' edge rusher problems, with the team taking Clemson's T.J. Parker with the 25th overall pick.
"As someone who consistently looks to walk back whoever stands in front of him, Parker seems like he was built to brawl in the NFC North. The Bears' pass rush has some promise but can't afford to pin its hopes on Dayo Odeyingbo's resurgence after a torn Achilles or a breakout from Austin Booker."
Bears take T.J. Parker with 25th overall pick in mock draft
Last season with the Tigers, Parker had 41 pressures, 24 hurries, 11 quarterback hits, and six sacks. Pro Football Focus gave him an overall grade of 80.6, ranking 79th out of 852 edge rushers in the nation.
Booker still gives the Bears hope, as they see potential in him after a nice second half of the season, with 4.5 sacks in 10 games. Odeyingbo might be best as a rotational edge rusher, but the Bears overpaid for him last offseason, and it has become a massive whiff for the team, especially with his injury on the back of everyone's mind.
Parker could be a Day 1 starter for the Bears with Sweat on the opposite side. While at Clemson, Parker had better seasons than 2025, but over the years has gotten better at consistently pressuring the quarterback.
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The Bears must do something with their struggling pass rush, and Parker would be able to help with that right away.